Who will take home the coveted Sehsüchte flames?
The winners of the 52nd Sehsüchtefestival are official!
On Saturday, April 22, 2023, the 52nd edition of the international student film festival Sehsüchte culminated with the festive award ceremony. In the presence of jury members, festival partners and numerous filmmakers, the winners and winning films were announced. The prizes from the 10 categories are worth a total of 30.000€. The evening was moderated by journalist Julia Vismann, and musical accompaniment was provided by singer MOREA.
The winning films at a glance
Fiction Film
In the Fiction Film section, Fathers Footsteps (India/Syria/2023/R: Mohammad Ali) triumphed, which managed to emotionally grab the jury through its dramaturgy and visuality and take them into a story of loss, war and destruction. The best fiction film was awarded with 5.000€ by the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB).
Outstanding Artistic Achievement: Feature Film
The win for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in the Feature Film category goes to Daydreaming So Vividly About Our Spanish Holiday (Spain/ 2022/R: Christian Avilés) for Sound Design (Sound: Jimmy Solórzano). The jury describes the Spanish film as surreal, experimental and complex, while taking the audience on a British teenager’s search for light and warmth with a spherical and sometimes threatening ambience. The winning film will receive 2.500€, donated by Studio Central.
Special Mention: Acting performance
A Special Mention for acting performance is awarded to Camille Motzen and Philip Günsch for their portrayal of communication in a relationship in the short feature Mom’s Potatoes (Germany/2023/R: Lili Zahavi).
Special Mention: Acting performance
Another Special Mention for acting goes to Anne Kulbatzi and Aurelia Schäfer in the short film Why Does Helen Koch Commit Serious Vehicle Theft (Germany/ 2022/ R: Moritz Geiser), in which the jury was particularly impressed by the high level of mental and physical preparation for the roles.
Special Mention: Cinematography
A Special Mention for Cinematography goes to Laura Titze for her work in the short film Return (Germany/2022/R: Ghiath Al Mitawi), where the jury highlighted light, color and framing, which interacted perfectly with the two protagonists.
Special Mention: Feature-length film
Another Special Mention goes to the feature-length film Sprich Mit Mir (Germany/2023/R: Janin Halisch) for the unique mother-daughter relationship and the artistic visualization of the “broken heart syndrome”.
Documentary
The winning film in the documentary section is Filho (Netherlands, Portugal/ 2022/R: Tomas Ponsteen). In a particularly personal and socially relevant film that explores themes like identity, adoption, child trafficking and belonging, the jury felt emotionally drawn into the story from the first seconds. Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg is donating 5.000€ to the winning film.
Outstanding Artistic Achievement: Documentary
The Outstanding Artistic Achievement award in the documentary category went to Yang Yang and Shuli Huang for their editing performance in Will You Look At Me (China/ 2022/R: Shuli Huang). In a “bold, innovative, and seemingly playful” way, the film combines a personal story with far-reaching themes such as social prejudice against homosexuality and individuality in Chinese society. Adobe is donating 2.500€ to the winning film.
Special Mentions: Documentary
There are also two Special Mentions in this section. The film Liminal Space: Diving Within (Germany/ 2022/R: Anahita Safarnejad Choobary)…
…and The Homes We Carry (Germany/2022/R: Brenda Akele Jorde) took home this honor.
Bestes Drehbuch: Schreibsüchte
Den Preis für das beste Drehbuch in der Kategorie Schreibsüchte erhält Rosanna Jaris & die Anderswelt (Schweiz/2023/Sandra Moser), Das Buch konnte die Jury mit einer Geschichte zur Überwindung von Schmerz und seiner ehrlichen und authentischen Tonalität überzeugen. Das Preisgeld beträgt 2.500€ und wird von Audible gestiftet.
Special Mention: Schreibsüchte
Die Special Mention in dieser Kategorie geht an Die Schlachten der Madame Kaulla (Deutschland/2023/R: Mathis Van Den Berg).
Pitch
Ich weiß, was du nicht weißt by Georg Reinke, won the last open competition as best pitch on the morning before the award ceremony. The jury explicitly praised the convincing characters of the coming-of-age thriller. The prize money of 1,000€ was donated by Action Concept.
Genre Film
In the public vote, Family Toast (South Korea/2022/R: Junhyung Kim) won Best Genre Film against six other films with 40 out of 149 votes cast. As a result, the team behind the film will receive a license worth €2,500 worth of Adobe products, donated by the manufacturer.
Best Animated Film
The award for Best Animated Film goes to Chimborazo (Spain/2022/R: Keila Cepeda Satán), which delighted the jury with its heartfelt yet sad story about the last ice tusker of a mountain. Especially the strong image composition and coloring of the film could convince. The prize of 2.500€ is donated by the mayor of Potsdam, Mike Schubert.
Special Mention: Animated Film
Also in this category a Special Mention will be awarded to the film Wind Whisperer (Germany, Ecuador/2022/R: Fernanda Caicedo).
Best Production
The Best Production Award goes to the film Was Wir Wollen (Germany/2023/R: Elena Weiss). The prize for the best film in the category Focus Production is endowed with 4.000€ and donated by CBBB.
Special Mention: Production
Also in this category, a Special Mention will be awarded to the film Istina (Germany, Serbia/2022/R: Tamara Denic).
360°
The prize for the best film in the 360° category will be awarded to the film Cycle of Violence (Germany/2022/R: Felicia Bergström). The prize is endowed with 5.000€ and is donated by INVR.Space.
Special Mention: 360°
A Special Mention will also be awarded to the film I: Nyssa (USA/2022/R: Julie Cavaliere).
Best Film: Future Kids
In the Future Kids category, the prize for the best film goes to the film Anscht (Switzerland/2021/R: Matthias Huber). The jury of children aged eight to ten chose it for its many funny moments, despite which it makes it clear that parents should take their children’s fears seriously, no matter how big or small they are. The prize for the best children’s film is endowed with 2.500€ and is donated by the mayor of the city of Potsdam, Mike Schubert.
Best Youth Film: Future Teens
The prize for the best youth film in the Future Teens category goes to Bedwetter (Peru/2022/R: July Naters). The twelve to eighteen year old jury members were very impressed by the character drawing and the metaphorical depiction of fears and nightmares. In an age-appropriate manner, the film clearly shows that one should never look away. This prize is also endowed with 2.500€ and is donated by Studio Babelsberg.
